In connection with the washing of cars, such as in a car wash, the operation thereof is substantially continuous and automatic with water and soap or detergent applied to the car body within some form of enclosure or framework wherein the car is normally cleaned and air dried. Various types of scrubbing mechanisms have been incorporated for engagement with the car surface including top and side portions and forward and rear portions for the washing and scrubbing and drying thereof in a well known conventional manner with various types of devices automatic or semi-automatic.
Very often, these devices include means by which a vehicle can be waxed and polished in the car wash line in an automatic manner if the customer desires to have this additional service and pays the additional price therefor. Examples of apparatus for washing and drying motor vehicles is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,866, dated Nov. 15, 1977 entitled Apparatus For Washing and Drying Motor Vehicles. Such disclosure also includes the use of an oscillating frictional curtain adapted for scrubbing and washing engagement with a vehicle to which a liquid detergent or soap has been applied. A further example is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,600, dated June 27, 1978 entitled Friction Curtain Apparatus.
In a system within which waxing and polishing may be selectively provided at the option of the purchaser, various efforts have been made for activating the waxing and polishing and buffing normally under the manual control of the operator wherein upon payment of the additional fee involved, the operator may control the application of wax foam or other detergent to a vehicle and can provide for the lowering at a predetermined time of a curtain mechanism adapted for operative friction scrubbing and waxing and polishing and buffing of the car surface over the top thereof.
The primary problem in a device of this nature is the provision of mechanism which will normally maintain the waxing, buffing and polishing apparatus inactive, but which may be automatically activated as required and which would permit the automatic application of foam detergent, or wax to the vehicle body, the automatic lowering of the polishing and buffing curtain to the body surface, the automatic application of buffing and polishing wheels to the sides of the vehicle body and the subsequent automatic application of rinse mechanism for removing the wax or detergent residues.